Political.Junkie

PUMAS

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:33:00 +0000

I really don't know what to say anymore. I have said all that needs to be said about the political climate as of late. Progressives have turned into PUMAS and the Right has gone insane. I was listening to Karel on Thursday He said something that has been weighing on me. " What are we going to do to make life better for us."

That was an ownership statement. I don't read a lot of ownership statements. So when I heard this it perked my ears. So many progressives lose the true message of being a Progressive. A Progressive is one who takes the lead in making a situation better for all. I don't see that now. What I do see is so-called Progressive blogs, feeding red meat to the masses and not trying to solve the issues. In doing this they yield their readership powerless. I am beginning to wonder is this intentional. If it is intentional then it is counter productive.

As of today, I am going to do myself a favor I will be cutting off all non productive blogs. If you are not part of the solution, your'e part of the problem.

There is just no pleasing anyone!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:27:00 +0000

Poor President Obama,

He has been put thru the ringer. He has got right calling him Hitler and the left calling him spineless and wimpy. When in fact he is just the opposite and both sides know this. I am going to say this because this is my blog and I can say what I want.

Progressives people on the left and right wing hate this President. He is a black man, telling them what they need to do and they don't like it one bit. The progressive left acts as if he owes them something. When in fact it was them voting for that dummy Ralph Nader in 2000 that caused all of this in the first place. That is why Bush got into office because the whiny left acted like children and threw there vote in the garbage.

They like to say that they are the reason he is in office. Not so, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians helped tremendously. We went into neighborhood where they could not and got out the vote. While they were crying over Hillary losing, we were diligently working for our future President. We understood what was ahead and we backed our president. We will be there again for him in 2012!!!

They are crying about Afghanistan. "When are we going to out!!!" Oh please, he told you what he was going to do in Afghanistan. He said it over and over again that he was going to escalate the war in Afghanistan and bring the troops home from Iraq. Healthcare was another issue. I would have loved to have HR67 pass. But it is just not practical for right now. What we got was better than what we had, which was nothing. Once once we have this exchange in place for a little while then we can move to single payer healthcare.

Now as for the right!! what can I say about the right wing. They have lost their minds completely. We have crying Glen Beck, Rush the Racist, Savage Micheal Savage, and Old silly Sarah Palin plus a whole host of wanna-bees rounding out the cast.

At first I laughed at these people, then several things happened that shook me to the core. A man walks into a Museum and shoots an African American security guard for no reason. Why because he listened to these knuckle heads I just mentioned. The second incident was the man who walk into a church on Sunday morning and shot an abortion doctor. Why, because Bill O'Reilly called the doctor a baby killer and wished several times on the air that he was dead. Thirdly, a man flies a Piper Jet into an IRS building in Texas, killing one employee and injuring several other employees. His reason, he stated that the IRS was "treading" on him and didn't want to pay his taxes.

The right wing has no reason to be angry AT ANYONE, period!!!! They are angry because there time is running out. This is a last ditch effort to have their poor working conservatives duped one more time into fighting a rich man's war. These people are out screaming about having Healthcare. Guess what, most of them did not have health care coverage for themselves. How silly and blind can you be. Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Sarah Palin don't give a flying flip about you. If they were told that they would get richer being a liberal they would drop you faster than a New York minute.

It's not just silly season on television, it's now silly season in the congress as well. Michelle Bachmann is a shit stirrer. She knows all of the ugly things she says about the President is wrong, but she doesn't care. How reckless. Ms Bachmann is not stupid as she looks, she is a very shrewd politician which make her very dangerous.

Well I say all of this to say this. My progressive friends, you know what side your bread is buttered. So act like you have some sense. Back your man and he will back you. You have not gotten this far in so little time, hang in there have a little bit more faith it will pay off in dividends. The working poor conservatives wake the hell up. You are being used like a two dollar hooker. Stop letting the rich treat you like you are there bull dogs. You work hard, we want you to have the best life possible. Realize we are all in this together. This is not about Black and White. This is about rich and poor and getting what is rightfully ours.

Peace!!!!

The True Gospel of inclusion

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:54:00 +0000

November 2008

When I became a Muslim in 1989 I put away certain schools of thought. The first was the theory of heaven and hell. As a child I never fully understood that concept. I always use to ask in Sunday school, " How is a place six times hotter that the sun and its six feet below? Would it burn our feet?" My reply would be this "Baby that is the way the Lord designed it. You just need to have a little more faith."

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches and so do others state that heaven and hell are two planes that exists right here on earth. A life of debt, misery wickedness and strife is hell. A life of peace and tranquility is heaven. Simple philosophy, atleast I thought so. However, when I ventured out and posed the question it may suprise many of the responses and examples and parused upon.

I was working in a christian outreach program. I posed the question to one of my senior co-worker. This was her response. "I could not possibly believe how you believe I need the threat of hell." See, living and doing the right thing for the sake of doing it was not enough for her.

Here is another example. I happened to be watching a newcast on World Link TV. The newclip was about a 14 year old Palestinian boy blowing himself up in Israel. I thought to myself, this is a 14 year old kid. What was this child promissed? Was he promissed by some cleric that upon his death he would recieve 70 virgins in heaven? Think about that, if there were REALLY 70 virgins waiting don't you think that old cleric would have been strapping himself up as well.

What would you do if your Preacher, Teacher, Guide, Imam, or Cleric got in front of you during Sunday morning services or Friday night Jumah and stated that there is no physical place called heaven or hell? Would you reak havoc, rob, steal, cheat because you feel that there is real punishment? Would you do the right thing by others because it's the right thing to do?

August 2009

Well I wrote this last year. Then I watched a documentary on a Minister lost everything doing just by just that. His name is Bishop Carlton Pearson. He is the most courageous person in the Ministry besides Minister Farrakhan.

Bishop Pearson was wealthy beyond belief. He had a huge congregation, power and prestige you name it he had it. Bishop Pearson had a revelation that shook the very core of his belief structure. He studied about the origins of Christianity and came to the realization that there was no HELL.

He could not continue to preach what he once believed nor could he Shepard his flock in that direction. Bishop Pearson began to share this new knowledge with his congregation. The Bishop thought that this would bring comfort to his congregation.

To say the least his most of his congregation left his church. He was ostracized by the Christian community. In short order he was persecuted. But truth always wins out. Even though he lost it all, he gained so much understanding and new life with a new mission. The Gospel of Inclusion.

I support you Bishop Pearson in all you do.

Peace

B.E.T NACHO NETWORK!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:44:00 +0000

I have read several complaints about BET this morning. Needless to say that I agree with all the sentiments of these blogs and letters. However, the one thing in these letters and blogs that bother me the most is the fact that no one wanted to solve the actual problem.

The actual problem is that BET is not your network anymore. Its not run by you, You dont dictate the programming, and nor can you control the purse strings. So we can write them, cry to to them, go on a hunger strike about them, it won't move them a wit. The other fact is that BET make WAYYYYYY too much money making fools out of us. We continue to watch it, talk about them at work, write blogs about them. All we our doing is generate more publicity. Creating a vicious cycle, of BET using us and we being used. You get the picture.

So with that being said, there is only one way to combat BET. Make our own internet channel. That sounds really big doesn't, not really, allow me to elaborate. We have enough people on this network that, program, blog, design websites, network. All of us have access to the Internet, at work, home and mobile to put this together and do it well.

We have to understand that WE have to WORK on this OURSELVES. No one is going to sponsor this WE HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. WE can make this viral movement and we can start it right here, right now!!!

WHO IS WITH ME, LETS THROW DOWN THE GAUNTLET!!! TURN OFF BET!!! TURN ON YOUR COMPUTERS AND LETS GO TO WORK!!! CREATING A NEW VIRAL MOVEMENT!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Freestyle 2009.…here we go

Aight, tomorrow will be a done deal. Now what you ask? Well things come full circle you know what I mean. I started this blog March 2008 with the intentions to improve my writing chops. Well I was doing ok, so I decided to try to become apart of a writing community. I was received with open arms to one and others turned me down. I was heart broken to say the least!!!! But everything has a rhyme and reason I guess. So anyways I was writing faithfully in my blog trying to think of things to write. It was the election season so you would think there would be oodles to write about…no!!!! Everyone was writing the same thing I felt myself drifting that way as well. So I took a unintentional break from political blogging.

I just decided to look up something on my teenager heart throb days. I googled the DeBarge family. As I was catching up all things DeBarge I joined this network. The DeBarge Network, I felt so silly joining at first. But when I started to chat and feeling out the surroundings I got to be real familiar. They were real together cool out sistahs. We were chatting one night about starting up an online business. Now mind you, when Alim starts to talk about business its like hearing Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Wun wun whu whun” The idea appealed to me when I am with them.

Last night I went to the chat as usual and a funny thing happened. The question arose, “When are YOU gonna do YOU? I was at a lost words, Imagine that! Me at a lost for words!!!!! So I stated that I had a blog and Invite people here to go to it but no one went to it!!!! They go to my blog they love it!!!!! So now people are on my ass, hell I’m on my own ass about my writing. I wrote El Debarge he wrote back.. The sistahs feel that he wrote me back because I had gift for writing. It was like game recognized game.

I having running from this gift for so long.

However writing is the key to my captive life and will shake my soul free… That’s real!!!!

So I say all of that to say this.. Expect more writing this year… and maybe just maybe I may have my first novel by end of the year….We will see, check in and keep in touch…..

If you on this blog, please leave comments so I know that you there that gives me encouragement ok !!!!!

Thanx

Political Junkie 67

The End of the Winter In America.....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Well to say the least I have been busy since November 4th. Barack Obama is now the President Elect and as of January 20th he will be the first African American to hold the office. I can't but feel a sense of release in all of this.

I have felt since Ronald Regan that this was the glass ceiling for us as well as other nationalities. You could not believe what your parents would tell me that you could be anything you want to be if you want if you work hard. I don't believe that they believed that either.

The

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Farewell to Mama Africa......1932-2008 p.b.u.h.

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:17:00 +0000

Miriam Makeba passed away yesterday while performing. I remember listening to her perform with Paul Simon on the album "Graceland." She had such pride and grace. Most of all she always had pride in the land of her birth South Africa. Her songs brought awareness of the brutal plight of apartied that plagued her homeland so much that she was banned from her country until Nelson Mandela was freed.

Obituary is done by the BBC Media

During her life Miriam Makeba, who has died aged 76, reached the heights of international success and fell into tragic lows many times.

"One minute I'm dining with presidents and emperors; the next I'm hitch-hiking," she told an interviewer in 2000. The Johannesburg club singer became a voice for the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Despite saying many times her songs were not political, she paid a high price for her activism. The South African government revoked her passport, effectively sending her into exile for 31 years.

After her 1968 engagement to Stokely Carmichael in 1968, a leader of the radical Black Panthers, American record labels dropped her and her performance bookings were cancelled.
I picked up my passport. It was stamped 'Invalid'. They have done it, I told myself. They have exiled me Miriam Makeba stated "I just told the world the truth, and if the truth then becomes political, I can't do anything about that," she told culture website Salon.com in 2000. Her career was also blighted by poor financial management, which meant she had to keep performing no matter what else was happening in her life. She said she couldn't cancel concerts - in 1998 she missed Mr Carmichael's funeral in Guinea because of her singing commitments.

Breakthrough

She was born in 1932 in Johannesburg to a sangoma, or traditional healer. Her father died when she was six. Despite being a successful recording artist, she didn't receive any royalties from her records. In her early career, she and her band were involved in a car crash and the police rescued only the white victims in the other car and left her and her band-mates on the road, where three of them died.

The only money was in touring Africa, playing jazz clubs from Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to the Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). It wasn't until 1959 that she came to the world's notice. She played a leading role in an all-black musical about South African boxing legend Ezekiel "King Kong" Dlamini. "That was the only time my mother saw me on stage," she told friend and journalist Gamal Nkrumah in 2001. "At one point in the play I am strangled and my mother jumped from her seat and screamed: 'No. You will not get away with murder. You cannot do this to my daughter.' Friends explained to her that this was not for real - that we were acting. But she made such a fuss. Everyone was so embarrassed. On stage my heart sank."
Also in the cast was trumpet player Hugh Masakela, who would become her second husband. Her first spouse was a South African policeman.

In the same year she starred in the anti-apartheid drama-documentary Come back, Africa, about the lives of migrant workers living in Johannesburg's townships. It was filmed around the Johannesburg neighbourhood of Sophiatown, partly with secret cameras and partly under the pretence of being a film about street music. The film was smuggled out of South Africa and shown at the Venice film festival, where she got permission to travel for the premiere.
From Venice she and Mr Masakela travelled to London. It was there while singing on the BBC radio show In Town Tonight that Makeba met Harry Belafonte, who would open up the road to world stardom for her.

The US Years

She became a massive hit in the US. People packed her concerts and she performed with stars.
Her blend of African rhythms and jazz in songs like Pata Pata appealed to both conventional audiences and the trendy jazz crowd. You must try not to be a tornado - be like a submarine
Harry BelafonteIn 1962 she played at the US President John F Kennedy's legendary birthday party, where Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday.

But the South African government had hit back for her role in Come Back, Africa. In 1960 she found they would not let her home to attend her mother's funeral. "The man at the desk took my passport. He did not speak to me. He took a rubber stamp and slammed it down. Then he walked away. I picked up my passport. It was stamped 'Invalid'. 'They have done it,' I told myself. 'They have exiled me," she said in 2001. She was shocked by the racial tensions she found in 1960s America, and called it "apartheid by another name". But Harry Belafonte advised her to play a less confrontational role in the civil rights movement.

"He was a good teacher and looked after me," she told the Guardian earlier this year.
"He said: 'You have such great talent, you must try not to be a tornado - be like a submarine. It was good advice when I found myself speaking at the UN Committee Against Apartheid and then the UN General Assembly." But her relationship with racial firebrand Stokely Carmichael ended her career in the US.

Another exile

They moved to Guinea and were given a home by President Sekou Toure who paid her a salary to write and perform. She also worked as a UN representative for Guinea for many years, for which she was given the Dag Hammarskjold peace prize in 1986. By then, stricken by grief at the death of her only child Bongi in 1985, she had left Guinea and moved to Brussels. Her relationship with Mr Carmichael had ended in 1973. Bongi died in childbirth but the child survived and Makeba has two grandchildren, Nelson Lumumba Lee and Zenzi Monique Lee, and three great-grandchildren Lindelani, Ayanda and Kwame. In 1990 she returned to South Africa for the first time after Nelson Mandela asked her to come back. In her increasing old age "Mama Africa" as she was known, began suffering from osteoarthritis and shortage of breath. She began a "farewell tour" in 2005 before retiring, but it stretched out for three years more. "Everybody keeps calling and saying: 'You have not come to say goodbye to us," she told an interviewer in
May.

Peace to you Mama Africa!!!!!!!!

This ish is funny.....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 03:49:00 +0000

The election is FINALLY over. We have a winner, but the right wing is scared out of their minds. We on the left will do very little to ease their minds....Here is "Get Your War On"

Hail to the Chief....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:18:00 +0000

This is the transcript of history...

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

Its the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

Its the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

Its the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Its been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and hes fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nations promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nations next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy thats coming with us to the White House. And while shes no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what youve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didnt start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generations apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didnt do this just to win an election and I know you didnt do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how theyll make the mortgage, or pay their doctors bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who wont agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government cant solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, its that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you. And to all those who have wondered if Americas beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one thats on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. Shes a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldnt vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that shes seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we cant, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when womens voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that We Shall Overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we cant, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

Update on El DeBarge..

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:17:00 +0000

Mr Patrick Eldra DeBarge had a court date today and the sentence was rendered. According to TMZ.com, Mr DeBarge received two years on the California State Prison in Lancaster, CA beginning immediately.

Please go the DeBarge Network and show some love to the family. The family does read the comments left by well wishers.

http://www.debargenetwork.com

Peace

Please pray for the DeBarge Family....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:01:00 +0000

El DeBarge was arrested on outstanding warrants and possession of a control substance. I am saddened to the core by this news. None the less it is what it is. We all have our loads to carry. I KNOW that he will get through this. Despite his good looks lies a very talented, warmhearted individual. He is an amazing writer and composer.

I also think that WHEN he get himself clean and sober he should share his story nationally go on Oprah. El's story can help save a lot of lives. He came out of very difficult circumstances and rose to prominence. In a previous post I wrote about this story. Tragic yes, but still this family rose like a phoenix.

He shall rise from the ashes and he will be a force to be reckoned with.

"Up ye mighty race, accomplish what you will"
-Marcus Mosiah Garvey 1887-1940

Looking Forward to the Age of Activism

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Senator Barack Obama in 1992 wrote a chapter in the text "After Alinsky" this is the core of what we need to be about when he takes office. Here is the text, I hope you enjoy.

Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City

For three years Barack Obama was the director of Developing Communities Project, an institutionally based community organization on Chicago's far south side. He has also been a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working throughout the Midwest. Currently he is studying law at Harvard University. "Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City" was first published in the August/ September 1988 Illinois Issues [published by then-Sangamon State University, which is now the University of Illinois at Springfield].

By Barack Obama
(c) 1990 Illinois Issues, Springfield, Illinois

Over the past five years, I've often had a difficult time explaining my profession to folks. Typical is a remark a public school administrative aide made to me one bleak January morning, while I waited to deliver some flyers to a group of confused and angry parents who had discovered the presence of asbestos in their school.

"Listen, Obama," she began. "You're a bright young man, Obama. You went to college, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"I just cannot understand why a bright young man like you would go to college, get that degree and become a community organizer."

"Why's that?"

" 'Cause the pay is low, the hours is long, and don't nobody appreciate you." She shook her head in puzzlement as she wandered back to attend to her duties.

I've thought back on that conversation more than once during the time I've organized with the Developing Communities Project, based in Chicago's far south side. Unfortunately, the answers that come to mind haven't been as simple as her question. Probably the shortest one is this: It needs to be done, and not enough folks are doing it.

The debate as to how black and other dispossessed people can forward their lot in America is not new. From W.E.B. DuBois to Booker T. Washington to Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X to Martin Luther King, this internal debate has raged between integration and nationalism, between accommodation and militancy, between sit-down strikes and boardroom negotiations. The lines between these strategies have never been simply drawn, and the most successful black leadership has recognized the need to bridge these seemingly divergent approaches. During the early years of the Civil Rights movement, many of these issues became submerged in the face of the clear oppression of segregation. The debate was no longer whether to protest, but how militant must that protest be to win full citizenship for blacks.

Twenty years later, the tensions between strategies have reemerged, in part due to the recognition that for all the accomplishments of the 1960s, the majority of blacks continue to suffer from second-class citizenship. Related to this are the failures — real, perceived and fabricated — of the Great Society programs initiated by Lyndon Johnson. Facing these realities, at least three major strands of earlier movements are apparent.

First, and most publicized, has been the surge of political empowerment around the country. Harold Washington and Jesse Jackson are but two striking examples of how the energy and passion of the Civil Rights movement have been channeled into bids for more traditional political power. Second, there has been a resurgence in attempts to foster economic development in the black community, whether through local entrepreneurial efforts, increased hiring of black contractors and corporate managers, or Buy Black campaigns. Third, and perhaps least publicized, has been grass-roots community organizing, which builds on indigenous leadership and direct action.

Proponents of electoral politics and economic development strategies can point to substantial accomplishments in the past 10 years. An increase in the number of black public officials offers at least the hope that government will be more responsive to inner-city constituents. Economic development programs can provide structural improvements and jobs to blighted communities.

In my view, however, neither approach offers lasting hope of real change for the inner city unless undergirded by a systematic approach to community organization. This is because the issues of the inner city are more complex and deeply rooted than ever before. Blatant discrimination has been replaced by institutional racism; problems like teen pregnancy, gang involvement and drug abuse cannot be solved by money alone. At the same time, as Professor William Julius Wilson of the University of Chicago has pointed out, the inner city's economy and its government support have declined, and middle-class blacks are leaving the neighborhoods they once helped to sustain.

Neither electoral politics nor a strategy of economic self-help and internal development can by themselves respond to these new challenges. The election of Harold Washington in Chicago or of Richard Hatcher in Gary were not enough to bring jobs to inner-city neighborhoods or cut a 50 percent drop-out rate in the schools, although they did achieve an important symbolic effect. In fact, much-needed black achievement in prominent city positions has put us in the awkward position of administering underfunded systems neither equipped nor eager to address the needs of the urban poor and being forced to compromise their interests to more powerful demands from other sectors.

Self-help strategies show similar limitations. Although both laudable and necessary, they too often ignore the fact that without a stable community, a well-educated population, an adequate infrastructure and an informed and employed market, neither new nor well-established companies will be willing to base themselves in the inner city and still compete in the international marketplace. Moreover, such approaches can and have become thinly veiled excuses for cutting back on social programs, which are anathema to a conservative agenda.

In theory, community organizing provides a way to merge various strategies for neighborhood empowerment. Organizing begins with the premise that (1) the problems facing inner-city communities do not result from a lack of effective solutions, but from a lack of power to implement these solutions; (2) that the only way for communities to build long-term power is by organizing people and money around a common vision; and (3) that a viable organization can only be achieved if a broadly based indigenous leadership — and not one or two charismatic leaders — can knit together the diverse interests of their local institutions.

This means bringing together churches, block clubs, parent groups and any other institutions in a given community to pay dues, hire organizers, conduct research, develop leadership, hold rallies and education campaigns, and begin drawing up plans on a whole range of issues — jobs, education, crime, etc. Once such a vehicle is formed, it holds the power to make politicians, agencies and corporations more responsive to community needs. Equally important, it enables people to break their crippling isolation from each other, to reshape their mutual values and expectations and rediscover the possibilities of acting collaboratively — the prerequisites of any successful self-help initiative.

By using this approach, the Developing Communities Project and other organizations in Chicago's inner city have achieved some impressive results. Schools have been made more accountable-Job training programs have been established; housing has been renovated and built; city services have been provided; parks have been refurbished; and crime and drug problems have been curtailed. Additionally, plain folk have been able to access the levers of power, and a sophisticated pool of local civic leadership has been developed.

But organizing the black community faces enormous problems as well. One problem is the not entirely undeserved skepticism organizers face in many communities. To a large degree, Chicago was the birthplace of community organizing, and the urban landscape is littered with the skeletons of previous efforts. Many of the best-intentioned members of the community have bitter memories of such failures and are reluctant to muster up renewed faith in the process.

A related problem involves the aforementioned exodus from the inner city of financial resources, institutions, role models and jobs. Even in areas that have not been completely devastated, most households now stay afloat with two incomes. Traditionally, community organizing has drawn support from women, who due to tradition and social discrimination had the time and the inclination to participate in what remains an essentially voluntary activity. Today the majority of women in the black community work full time, many are the sole parent, and all have to split themselves between work, raising children, running a household and maintaining some semblance of a personal life — all of which makes voluntary activities lower on the priority list. Additionally, the slow exodus of the black middle class into the suburbs means that people shop in one neighborhood, work in another, send their child to a school across town and go to church someplace other than the place where they live. Such geographical dispersion creates real problems in building a sense of investment and common purpose in any particular neighborhood.

Finally community organizations and organizers are hampered by their own dogmas about the style and substance of organizing. Most still practice what Professor John McKnight of Northwestern University calls a "consumer advocacy" approach, with a focus on wrestling services and resources from the ouside powers that be. Few are thinking of harnessing the internal productive capacities, both in terms of money and people, that already exist in communities.

Our thinking about media and public relations is equally stunted when compared to the high-powered direct mail and video approaches successfully used by conservative organizations like the Moral Majority. Most importantly, low salaries, the lack of quality training and ill-defined possibilities for advancement discourage the most talented young blacks from viewing organizing as a legitimate career option. As long as our best and brightest youth see more opportunity in climbing the corporate ladder-than in building the communities from which they came, organizing will remain decidedly handicapped.

None of these problems is insurmountable. In Chicago, the Developing Communities Project and other community organizations have pooled resources to form cooperative think tanks like the Gamaliel Foundation. These provide both a formal setting where experienced organizers can rework old models to fit new realities and a healthy environment for the recruitment and training of new organizers. At the same time the leadership vacuum and disillusionment following the death of Harold Washington have made both the media and people in the neighborhoods more responsive to the new approaches community organizing can provide.

Nowhere is the promise of organizing more apparent than in the traditional black churches. Possessing tremendous financial resources, membership and — most importantly — values and biblical traditions that call for empowerment and liberation, the black church is clearly a slumbering giant in the political and economic landscape of cities like Chicago. A fierce independence among black pastors and a preference for more traditional approaches to social involvement (supporting candidates for office, providing shelters for the homeless) have prevented the black church from bringing its full weight to bear on the political, social and economic arenas of the city.

Over the past few years, however, more and more young and forward-thinking pastors have begun to look at community organizations such as the Developing Communities Project in the far south side and GREAT in the Grand Boulevard area as a powerful tool for living the social gospel, one which can educate and empower entire congregations and not just serve as a platform for a few prophetic leaders. Should a mere 50 prominent black churches, out of the thousands that exist in cities like Chicago, decide to collaborate with a trained organizing staff, enormous positive changes could be wrought in the education, housing, employment and spirit of inner-city black communities, changes that would send powerful ripples throughout the city.

In the meantime, organizers will continue to build on local successes, learn from their numerous failures and recruit and train their small but growing core of leadership — mothers on welfare, postal workers, CTA drivers and school teachers, all of whom have a vision and memories of what communities can be. In fact, the answer to the original question — why organize? — resides in these people. In helping a group of housewives sit across the negotiating table with the mayor of America's third largest city and hold their own, or a retired steelworker stand before a TV camera and give voice to the dreams he has for his grandchild's future, one discovers the most significant and satisfying contribution organizing can make.

In return, organizing teaches as nothing else does the beauty and strength of everyday people. Through the songs of the church and the talk on the stoops, through the hundreds of individual stories of coming up from the South and finding any job that would pay, of raising families on threadbare budgets, of losing some children to drugs and watching others earn degrees and land jobs their parents could never aspire to — it is through these stories and songs of dashed hopes and powers of endurance, of ugliness and strife, subtlety and laughter, that organizers can shape a sense of community not only for others, but for themselves.

Me and the Crush....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:51:00 +0000

Besides being totally enthrolled in this election I had a chance to settle down for a second. Me and trusty Zinfandel sat in front of my laptop and I chilled listening to music. My husband asked me about the group Switch. My curiosity was then piqued so I started to look up my long time crushes Bobby ( I was gonna marry him at the age of 12 ) and El ( I was gonna marry him at 16) DeBarge.

What I found was very startling to say the least. For one thing I found thru Wiki that Bobby had passed away 13 years ago of AIDS p.b.u.h, I was crushed by this so that made me digg a little deeper. I read article from VIBE "The Rise and Fall of the DeBarge Family." As I read these sets of articles I found myself in familiar territory. I thought about Mikey

Well their childhood was filled violence similar to a friend of mine in college. When Mikey he watched his mother being attacked by his father for a kid, Mike said that is the most helpless feeling in the world. Their was also sexual abuse perpetrated by their father. Mike's sisters were molested by family friends. His father brutally abused him and both of his brothers.

The some of the DeBarge family have had brushes with the law and addiction. Where as his family his older brother was addicted to cocaine he is now clean sober. His younger brother has been in Desert Storm, Panama you name it he hated the army lifestyle and went a wall. He is fine now but he stills has a lot demons to deal with. Mike loves both of my brothers very much. His sister Becka happily married now but I think she suffered the most. She protected Micheal and their younger siblings and kept them out of harms way. Her reward ulcers that plagued her for years. She held a lot in. Her weight constantly fluctuated to the point of bulimia. But she is fine now, she beautiful and happy she and Mike remain close...she and Bunny would have a lot in common.

As for me I haven't spoken to Mike in a while but he is fine in Woodbridge, VA in the IT field.
As for El if you ever read this I just want to say thank you...I saw your testimony at Noel Jones in 2007 it was absolutely beautiful. I hope all is well with you and your family. Struggle is daily so pray early and often. I am sure you don't need to hear that from me. You are a beautiful person don't let the gossip column shake you be better than that. I am glad that you are going to be back on the scene with George Clinton that means my husband will listen to it as well :)

Peace with a crush... :)

This Long and Winding Road....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:34:00 +0000

That all I can say at this point out this election season. I have NEVER been so active in the political process. Let's see I have made calls, canvassed various neighborhoods AND to say the least I have spoken to VERY super duper Republican best friend in the world. Take it from me if I can crack that conservative I can do anything :)

I have voted absentee so has my whole family so that we can give rides to the polls on election day. I would recommend to vote absentee to any older who can't stand in long lines or working long hours that day. (but like in my last entry I implore you to TAKE THAT DAY OFF!!!!!) ..

No Excuses.....Not this time

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:46:00 +0000

Their no excuses for not voting this year. NONE GOT IT!!!!! The voter registration ends in VA on Oct 6th. But in some states you can register early and vote and the same time. Here is the link for for all states http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/17/94016/0264 .

COLLEGE STUDENTS PLEASE PLAN TO VOTE ABSENTEE OR VOTE EARLY IN YOUR HOME STATE!!!! So, drop in on Moms and let wash your clothes while you vote. She might like the idea so much you might get a home cooked meal out of the deal....sweet!!!!!

What ever you do not go to work or school on November 4th. Call in sick, plan a personal day, go into your vacation calendar at work schedule that day OFF!!!! Make a national holiday of biblical proportions KNOW WHAT I'M SAYIN'!!!! MAKE IT HAPPEN CAPT'N

If you vote early help out at the polls....Those of us that have Mini-Vans and SUV's give a senior citizen or single mother in your neighborhood a lift to the polls.

CAUSE IF YA DON'T this will be the result....

We will all be looking real STUPID .....

A Place Called Hope...Revisted

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:14:00 +0000

July 16, 1992 William Jefferson Clinton accepted the nomination for President of the United States. His acceptance speech was titled "A Place Called Hope." When I was listening to the Presidents' speech tonight on behalf Senator Barrack Obama the last line of this speech there it was again. I went and found the transcript of this speech it was strikingly familiar. Not only was the speech familair but the lives of President Clinton and Senator Barrack Obama paralleled a well. I am going to post this speech I hope you enjoy.

Peace.

I Still Believe In A Place Called Hope

William Jefferson Clinton

Democratic National Convention
July 16, 1992

Governor Richards, Chairman Brown, Mayor Dinkins, our great host, and my fellow Americans.

I am so proud of Al Gore. He said he came here tonight because he always wanted to do the warmup for Elvis. Well, I ran for President this year for one reason and one reason only: I wanted to come back to this convention center and finish that speech I started four years.

Well, last night Mario Cuomo taught us how a real nominating speech should be given. He also made it clear why we have to steer our ship of state on a new course.

Tonight I want to talk with you about my hope for the future, my faith in the American people, and my vision of the kind of country we can build, together.

I salute the good men who were my companions on the campaign trail: Tom Harkin, Bob Kerrey, Doug Wilder, Jerry Brown and Paul Tsongas. One sentence in the platform we built says it all: "The most important family policy, urban policy, labor policy, minority policy and foreign policy America can have is an expanding, entrepreneurial economy of high-wage, high-skill jobs."

And so, in the name of all the people who do the work, pay the taxes, raise the kids and play by the rules, in the name of the hard-working Americans who make up our forgotten middle class, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

I am a product of that middle class. And when I am President you will be forgotten no more.

We meet at a special moment in history, you and I. The Cold War is over; Soviet Communism has collapsed; and our values -- freedom, democracy, individual rights and free enterprise--they have triumphed all around the world. And yet just as we have won the Cold War abroad, we are losing the battles for economic opportunity and social justice here at home. Now that we have changed the world, it's time to change America.

I have news for the forces of greed and the defenders of the status quo: your time has come--and gone. It's time for a change in America.

Tonight ten million of our fellow Americans are out of work. Tens of millions more work harder for lower pay.

The incumbent President says unemployment always goes up a little before a recovery begins. But unemployment only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. And, Mr. President, you are that man.

This election is about putting power back in your hands and putting government back on your side. It's about putting people first.

You know, I've said that all across the country, and someone always comes back at me, as a young man did just this week at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He said, "That sounds good, Bill. But you're a politician. Why should I trust you?"

Tonight, as plainly as I can, I want to tell you who I am, what I believe, and where I want to lead America.

I never met my father. He was killed in a car wreck on a rainy road three months before I was born, driving home from Chicago to Arkansas to see my mother.

After that, my mother had to support us. So we lived with my grandparents while she went back to Louisiana to study nursing.

I can still see her clearly tonight through the eyes of a three- year-old: kneeling at the railroad station and weeping as she put me back on the train to Arkansas with my grandmother. She endured her pain because she knew her sacrifice was the only way she could support me and give me a better life.

My mother taught me. She taught me about family and hard work and sacrifice. She held steady through tragedy after tragedy. And she held our family, my brother and I, together through tough times. As a child, I watched her go off to work each day at a time when it wasn't always easy to be a working mother.

As an adult, I've watched her fight off breast cancer. And again she has taught me a lesson in courage. And always, always she taught me to fight.

That's why I'll fight to create high-paying jobs so that parents can afford to raise their children today. That's why I'm so committed to making sure every American gets the health care that saved my mother's life, and that women's health care gets the same attention as men's. That's why I'll fight to make sure women in this country receive respect and dignity -- whether they work in the home, out of the home, or both. You want to know where I get my fighting spirit? It all started with my mother.

Thank you, Mother. I love you.

When I think about opportunity for all Americans, I think about my grandfather.
He ran a country store in our little town of Hope. There were no food stamps back then, so when his customers -- whether they were white or black, who worked hard and did the best they could, came in with no money--well, he gave them food anyway --just made a note of it. So did I. Before I was big enough to see over the counter, I learned from him to look up to people other folks looked down on.

My grandfather just had a grade-school education. But in that country store he taught me more about equality in the eyes of the Lord than all my professors at Georgetown; more about the intrinsic worth of every individual than all the philosophers at Oxford; and he taught me more about the need for equal justice than all the jurists at Yale Law School.

If you want to know where I come by the passionate commitment I have to bringing people together without regard to race, it all started with my grandfather.

I learned a lot from another person, too. A person who for more than 20 years has worked hard to help our children--paying the price of time to make sure our schools don't fail them. Someone who traveled our state for a year, studying, learning, listening, going to PTA meetings, school board meetings, town hall meetings, putting together a package of school reforms recognized around the nation, and doing it all while building a distinguished legal career and being a wonderful loving mother.

That person is my wife.

Hillary taught me. She taught me that all children can learn, and that each of us has a duty to help them do it. So if you want to know why I care so much about our children and our future; it all started with Hillary. I love you.

I am fed up with politicians in Washington lecturing the rest of us about "family values." Our families have values. But our government doesn't.

I want an America where "family values" live in our actions, not just in our speeches--an America that includes every family, every traditional family and every extended family, every two-parent family, every single-parent family, and every foster family--every family.

I do want to say something to the fathers in this country who have chosen to abandon their children by neglecting to pay their child support: take responsibility for your children or we will force you to do so. Because governments don't raise children; parents do. And you should.

And I want to say something to every child in America tonight who is out there trying to grow up without a father or a mother: I know how you feel. You're special, too. You matter to America. And don't ever let anybody tell you you can't become whatever you want to be. And if other politicians make you feel like you're not a part of their family, come on and be part of ours.

The thing that makes me angriest about what's gone wrong in the last 12 years is that our government has lost touch with our values, while our politicians continue to shout about them. I'm tired of it.

I was raised to believe its that the American Dream was built on rewarding hard work. But we have seen the folks in Washington turn the American ethic on its head. For too long, those who play by the rules and keep the faith have gotten the shaft, and those who cut corners and cut deals have been rewarded. People are working harder than ever, spending less time with their children, working nights and weekends at their jobs instead of gong to PTA and Little League or Scouts, and their incomes are still going down. Their taxes are going up, and the costs of health care, housing and education are going through the roof. Meanwhile, more and more of our best people are falling into poverty -- even when they work forty hours a week.

Our people are pleading for change, but government is in the way. It has been hijacked by privileged, private interests. It has forgotten who really pays the bills around here -- it's taking more of your money and giving you less in return.

We have got to go beyond the brain-dead politics in Washington, and give our people the kind of government they deserve: a government that works for them.

A President -- a President ought to be a powerful force for progress. But right now I know how President Lincoln felt when General McClellan wouldn't attack in the Civil War. He asked him, "If you're not going to use your army, may I borrow it?" And so I say, George Bush, if you won't use your power to help America, step aside. I will.

Our country is falling behind. The President is caught in the grip of a failed economic theory. We have gone from first to thirteenth in the world in wages since Reagan and Bush have been in office. Four years ago, candidate Bush said America is a special place, not just "another pleasant country on the U.N roll call, between Albania and Zimbabwe." Now, under President Bush, America has an unpleasant economy stuck somewhere between Germany and Sri Lanka. And for most Americans, Mr. President, life's a lot less kind and a lot less gentle than it was before your Administration took office.

Our country has fallen so far, so fast that just a few months ago the Japanese Prime Minister actually said he felt "sympathy" for the United States. Sympathy. When I am your President, the rest of the world will not look down on us with pity, but up to us with respect again.
What is George Bush doing about our economic problems? Now, four years ago he promised us fifteen million new jobs by this time. And he's over fourteen million short. Al Gore and I can do better.

He has raised taxes on the people driving pick-up trucks, and lowered taxes on people riding in limousines. We can do better.

He promised to balance the budget, but he hasn't even tried. In fact, the budgets he has submitted have nearly doubled the debt. Even worse, he wasted billions and reduced our investment in education and jobs. We can do better.

So if you are sick and tired of a government that doesn't work to create jobs; if you're sick and tired of a tax system that's stacked against you; if you're sick and tired of exploding debt and reduced investments in our future -- or if, like the great civil rights pioneer Fannie Lou Hamer, you're just plain old sick and tired of being sick and tired -- then join us, work with us, win with us. And we can make our country the country it was meant to be.

Now, George Bush talks a good game. But he has no game plan to rebuild America from the cities to the suburbs to the countryside so that we can compete and win again in the global economy. I do.

He won't take on the big insurance companies and the bureaucracies to control health costs and give us affordable health care for all Americans. But I will.

He won't even implement the recommendations of his own Commission on AIDS. But I will.
He won't streamline the federal government, and change the way it works; cut a hundred thousand bureaucrats, and put a hundred thousand new police officers on the streets of American cities. But I will.

He has never balanced a government budget. But I have, eleven times.
He won't break the stranglehold the special interests have on our elections and the lobbyists have on our government. But I will.

He won't give mothers and fathers the simple chance to take some time off from work when a baby is born or a parent is sick. But I will.

We're losing our family farms at a rapid rate, and he has no commitment to keep family farms in the family. But I do.

He's talked a lot about drugs, but he hasn't helped people on the front line to wage that war on drugs and crime. But I will.

He won't take the lead in protecting the environment and creating new jobs in environmental technology. But I will.

You know what else? He doesn't have Al Gore and I do.

Just in case -- just in case you didn't notice, that's Gore with an E on the end.

And George Bush -- George Bush won't guarantee a woman's right to choose. I will. Listen, hear me now: I am not pro-abortion. I am pro-choice strongly. I believe this difficult and painful decision should be left to the women of America. I hope the right to privacy can be protected, and we will never again have to discuss this issue on political platforms. But I am old enough to remember what it was like before Roe v. Wade. And I do not want to return to the time when we made criminals of women and their doctors.

Jobs. Education. Health care. These are not just commitments from my lips. They are the work of my life.

Our priorities must be clear: we will put our people first again. But priorities without a clear plan of action are just empty words. To turn our rhetoric into reality we've got to change the way government does business -- fundamentally. Until we do, we'll continue to pour billions of dollars down the drain.

The Republicans have campaigned against big government for a generation. But have you noticed? They've run this big government for a generation. And they haven't changed a thing. They don't want to fix government. They still want to campaign against it, and that's all.
But, my fellow Democrats, it's time for us to realize that we've got some changing to do too. There is not a program in government for every problem. And if we want to use government to help people, we've got to make it work again.

Because we are committed in this convention and in this platform to making these changes, we are, as Democrats, in the words that Ross Perot himself spoke today, a revitalized Democratic party. I am well aware that all those millions of people who rallied to Ross Perot's cause wanted to be in an army of patriots for change. Tonight I say to them: join us and together we will revitalize America.

Now, I don't have all the answers. But I do know the old ways don't work. Trickle down economics has sure failed. And big bureaucracies, both private and public, they've failed, too.
That's why we need a new approach to government--a government that offers more empowerment and less entitlement, more choices for young people in the schools they attend, in the public schools they attend, and more choices for the elderly and for people with disabilities and the long-term care they receive--a government that is leaner, not meaner. A government that expands opportunity, not bureaucracy--a government that understands that jobs must come from growth in a vibrant and vital system of free enterprise. I call this approach a New Covenant -- a solemn agreement between the people and their government -- based not simply on what each of us can take but on what all of us must give to our nation.

We offer our people a new choice based on old values. We offer opportunity. We demand responsibility. We will build an American community again. The choice we offer is not conservative or liberal. In many ways it's not even Republican or Democratic, It's different. It's new. And it will work.

It will work because it is rooted in the vision and the values of the American people. Of all the things George Bush has ever said that I disagree with, perhaps the thing that bothers me most is how he derides and degrades the American tradition of seeing -- and seeking -- a better future. He mocks it as "the vision thing." But remember just what the Scripture says: "Where there is no vision the people perish."

I hope -- I hope nobody in this great hall tonight or in our beloved country has to go through tomorrow without a vision. I hope no one ever tries to raise a child without a vision. I hope nobody ever starts a business or plants a crop in the ground without a vision--for where there is no vision the people perish.

One of the reasons we have so many children in so much trouble in so many places in this nation is because they have seen so little opportunity, so little responsibility, and so little loving, caring community that they literally cannot imagine the life we are calling them to lead. And so I say again, where there is no vision America will perish.

What is the vision of our New Covenant?

An America with millions of new jobs in dozens of new industries moving confidently toward the 21st Century. An America that says to entrepreneurs and business people: We will give you more incentives and more opportunity than ever before to develop the skills of your workers and create American jobs and American wealth in the new global economy. But you must do your part; you must be responsible. American companies must act like American companies again -- exporting products, not jobs. That's what this New Covenant is all about.

An America in which the doors of college are thrown open once again to the sons and daughters of stenographers and steelworkers. We'll say: Everybody can borrow the money to go to college. But you must do your part. You must pay it back -- from your paychecks, or better yet, by going back home and serving your communities. Just think of it. Think of it; millions of energetic young men and women, serving their country by policing the streets, or teaching the children or caring for the sick, or working with the elderly or people with disabilities, or helping young people to stay off drugs and out of gangs, giving us all a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities.

That's what this New Covenant is all about.

An America in which health care is a right, not a privilege. In which we say to all of our people: Your government has the courage -- finally -- to take on the health care profiteers and make health care affordable for every family. But you must do your part: preventive care, prenatal care, childhood immunization; saving lives, saving money, saving families from heartbreak. That's what the New Covenant is all about.
An America in which middle class incomes --

not middle class taxes -- are going up. An America, yes, in which the wealthiest few -- those making over $200,000 a year -- are asked to pay their fair share. An America in which the rich are not soaked -- but the middle class is not drowned either. Responsibility starts at the top; that's what the New Covenant is all about.

An America where we end welfare as we know it. We will say to those on welfare: you will have and you deserve the opportunity through training and education, through child care and medical coverage, to liberate yourself. But then, when you can, you must work, because welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life. That's what the New Covenant is all about.

America with the world's strongest defense; ready and willing to use force, when necessary. An America at the forefront of the global effort to preserve and protect our common environment - and promoting global growth. An America that will not coddle tyrants, from Baghdad to Beijing. An America that champions the cause of freedom and democracy, from Eastern Europe to Southern Africa, and in our own hemisphere in Haiti and Cuba.

The end of the Cold War permits us to reduce defense spending while still maintaining the strongest defense in the world. But we must plow back every dollar of defense cuts into building American jobs right here at home. I know well that the world needs a strong America, but we have learned that strength begins at home.

But the New Covenant is about more than opportunities and responsibilities for you and your families. It's also about our common community. Tonight every one of you knows deep in your heart that we are too divided.

It is time to heal America. And so we must say to every American: look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other. All of us, we need each other. We don't have a person to waste. And yet, for too long, politicians have told the most of us that are doing all right that what's really wrong with America is the rest of us. Them. Them the minorities. Them the liberals. Them the poor. Them the homeless. Them the people with disabilities. Them the gays. We've gotten to where we've nearly them'd ourselves to death. Them, and them, and them. But this is America. There is no them; there is only us. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.

That is our Pledge of Allegiance, and that's what the New Covenant is all about.
How do I know we can come together to make change happen? Because I have see it in my own state. In Arkansas we're working together and we're making progress. No, there is no Arkansas miracle. But there are a lot of miraculous people. And because of them, our schools are better, our wages are higher, our factories are busier, our water is cleaner, and our budget is balanced. We're moving ahead.

I wish -- I wish I could say the same thing about America under the incumbent President. He took the richest country in the world and brought it down. We took one of the poorest states in America and lifted it up.

And so I say to those who would criticize Arkansas: come on down. Especially if you're from Washington -- come to Arkansas. You'll see us struggling against some problems we haven't solved yet. But you'll also see a lot of great people doing amazing things. And you might even learn a thing or two.

In the end, the New Covenant simply asks us all to be Americans again--old-fashioned Americans for a new time. Opportunity. Responsibility. Community. When we pull together, America will pull ahead. Throughout the whole history of this country, we have seen time and again that when we are united, we are unstoppable. We can seize this moment, we can make it exciting and energizing and heroic to be an American again. We can renew our faith in ourselves and each other, and restore our sense of unity and community. Scripture says, our eyes have not yet seen, nor our ears heard, nor our minds imagined what we can build.

But I cannot do it alone. No President can. We must do it together. It won't be easy and it won't be quick. We didn't get into this mess overnight, and we won't get out of it overnight. But we can do it--with our commitment and our creativity and our diversity and our strength. I want every person in this hall and every citizen in this land to reach out and join us in a great new adventure to chart a bold new future.

As a teenager I heard John Kennedy's summons to citizenship. And then, as a student at Georgetown, I heard that call clarified by a professor I had, named Carroll Quigley, who said America was the greatest country in the history of the world because our people have always believed in two great ideas: first, that tomorrow can be better than today, and second, that each of us has a personal, moral responsibility to make it so.

That future entered my life the night our daughter Chelsea was born. As I stood in that delivery room, I was overcome with the thought that God had given me a blessing my own father never knew: the chance to hold my child in my arms.

Somewhere at this very moment, another child is born in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a happy home, a healthy family, a hopeful future. Let it be our cause to see that child reach the fullest of her God-given abilities. Let it be our cause that she grow up strong and secure, braced by her challenges, but never, never struggling alone; with family and friends and a faith that in America, no one is left out; no one is left behind.

Let it be our cause that when she is able, she gives something back to her children, her community, and her country. And let it be our cause to give her a country that's coming together, and moving ahead -- a country of boundless hopes and endless dreams; a country that once again lifts up its people, and inspires the world.

Let that be our cause and our commitment and our New Covenant.

I end tonight where it all began for me: I still believe in a place called Hope.

My sister

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

In the name of Allah the Beneficent Merciful.

Forth of July holds a different meaning for Muslims in the Nation of Islam. On that day Master Fard Muhammad came to deliver black man from bondage July 4, 1930. Today I received sad news. My mentor sister Priscilla Muhammad passed away on Monday. She died the same way Mr Russert did. This sister meant a lot to me in my growth and development as a Muslim. She was a no-nonsense sister, a straight down to the modern times MGT.
Sister taught common sense lessons about family and relationships. I hadn't talked to the sister in a year. If she were here she would tell me to take stock of my life. Life is precious, take time to enjoy it.
I brought July 4th up because that is what I think of this time of the year. I think back to when I first made the commitment to become a Muslim and the lasting bonds that I have created throughout the years.

I will miss my dear sister. I will miss her being busy and on the go. I will miss her smile. I will miss her friendship and camaraderie the most.

I will miss her so.

Understanding Black Patriotism

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:07:00 +0000

I heard this read on the Joe Madison show "The Black Eagle" I felt that this article was appropriate for this Forth of July holiday. Dr Dyson as always is "dropping knowledge" and this article is no exception.

Understanding Black Patriotism

by Dr. Micheal Eric Dyson

A National Guardsman pictures on 9/11
Picture credit

Paul Colangelo/Corbis

Mainstream America has shown little understanding lately of the patriotism that a lot of black people practice. Black love of country is often far more robust and complicated than the lapel-pin nationalism some citizens swear by. Barack Obama hinted at this when he declared in Montana a few weeks ago, "I love this country not because it's perfect but because we've always been able to move it closer to perfection. Because through revolution and slavery ... generations of Americans have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

That's a far cry from the "My country, right or wrong" credo, which confuses blind boosterism with a more authentic, if sometimes questioning, loyalty. At their best, black folk offer critical patriotism, an exacting devotion that carries on a lover's quarrel with America while they shed blood in its defense.

It is easy to see why the words of black critics and leaders, taken out of context, can be read as cynical renunciations of country. Abolitionist and runaway slave Frederick Douglass gave a famous oration on the meaning of Independence Day, asking "What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim." But instead of joining the chorus of black voices swelling with nostalgia to return to their African roots, Douglass stayed put. Poet Langston Hughes grieved in verse that "(America never was America to me) ... (There's never been equality for me,/ Nor freedom in this 'homeland of the free')." But his lament is couched in a poem whose title, like its author, yearns for acceptance: Let America Be America Again.

Even Martin Luther King Jr. was branded a traitor to his country because he opposed the war in Vietnam. When King announced his opposition in 1967, journalist Kenneth Crawford attacked him for his "demagoguery," while black writer Carl Rowan bitterly concluded that King's speech had created "the impression that the Negro is disloyal." Black dissent over war has historically brought charges of disloyalty despite the eagerness among blacks to defend on foreign soil a democracy they couldn't enjoy back home. Since the time of slavery, blacks have actively defended the U.S. in every war it has waged, from the Civil War down to the war on terrorism, a loyalty to the Federal Government conceived by black leaders as a critical force in gaining freedom. W.E.B. DuBois argued in World War I that blacks should "forget our special grievances and close our ranks ... with our white fellow citizens." Some 380,000 soldiers answered the call even as they failed to reap the benefits of their sacrifice when they came home.

Even the angry comments of Jeremiah Wright have to be read as the bitter complaint of a spurned lover. Like millions of other blacks, Wright was willing to serve the country while suffering rejection. He surrendered his student deferment in 1961, voluntarily joined the Marines and, after a two-year stint, volunteered to become a Navy corpsman. He excelled and became valedictorian, later a cardiopulmonary technician and eventually a member of the President's medical team. Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery, earning three White House letters of commendation.

Dick Cheney, born in the same year as Wright, received five deferments--four while an undergraduate or graduate student and one as a prospective father. Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used their student deferments to remain in college until 1968. Clinton did not serve, and Bush was on active duty in the National Guard for two years. If time in uniform is any measure, Wright, much more than Cheney, Clinton or Bush, embodies Obama's ideal of "Americans [who] have shown their love of country by struggling and sacrificing and risking their lives to bring us that much closer to our founding promise."

Wright's critics have confused nationalism with patriotism. Nationalism is the uncritical support of one's country regardless of its moral or political bearing. Patriotism is the affirmation of one's country in light of its best values, including the attempt to correct it when it's in error. Wright's words are the tough love of a war-tested patriot speaking his mind--one of the great virtues of our democracy. The most patriotic thing his nation can do now is extend to him the same right for which he was willing to die.

Dyson is a sociology professor at Georgetown University and author of April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America

Obama Strikes Back

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:43:00 +0000

My man Senator Obama is being kicked from the right and the left. The left should know better, for real. I am so disappointed in the left, because I feel that they're looking for any reason not to vote for a Black man.

With all that the man is still standing.

Hope you read and understand

Peace

My Position On FISA
by Senator Barack Obama

Today, Barack Obama posted a message to supporters on my.barackobama.com about the FISA legislation.

I want to take this opportunity to speak directly to those of you who oppose my decision to support the FISA compromise.

This was not an easy call for me. I know that the FISA bill that passed the House is far from perfect. I wouldn't have drafted the legislation like this, and it does not resolve all of the concerns that we have about President Bush's abuse of executive power. It grants retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have violated the law by cooperating with the Bush administration's program of warrantless wiretapping. This potentially weakens the deterrent effect of the law and removes an important tool for the American people to demand accountability for past abuses. That's why I support striking Title II from the bill, and will work with Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman and others in an effort to remove this provision in the Senate.

But I also believe that the compromise bill is far better than the Protect America Act that I voted against last year. The exclusivity provision makes it clear to any president or telecommunications company that no law supersedes the authority of the FISA court. In a dangerous world, government must have the authority to collect the intelligence we need to protect the American people. But in a free society, that authority cannot be unlimited. As I've said many times, an independent monitor must watch the watchers to prevent abuses and to protect the civil liberties of the American people. This compromise law assures that the FISA court has that responsibility.

The Inspectors General report also provides a real mechanism for accountability and should not be discounted. It will allow a close look at past misconduct without hurdles that would exist in federal court because of classification issues. The recent investigation (PDF) uncovering the illegal politicization of Justice Department hiring sets a strong example of the accountability that can come from a tough and thorough IG report.

The ability to monitor and track individuals who want to attack the United States is a vital counter-terrorism tool, and I'm persuaded that it is necessary to keep the American people safe -- particularly since certain electronic surveillance orders will begin to expire later this summer. Given the choice between voting for an improved yet imperfect bill, and losing important surveillance tools, I've chosen to support the current compromise. I do so with the firm intention -- once I'm sworn in as president -- to have my Attorney General conduct a comprehensive review of all our surveillance programs, and to make further recommendations on any steps needed to preserve civil liberties and to prevent executive branch abuse in the future.

Now, I understand why some of you feel differently about the current bill, and I'm happy to take my lumps on this side and elsewhere. For the truth is that your organizing, your activism and your passion is an important reason why this bill is better than previous versions. No tool has been more important in focusing peoples' attention on the abuses of executive power in this administration than the active and sustained engagement of American citizens. That holds true -- not just on wiretapping, but on a range of issues where Washington has let the American people down.

I learned long ago, when working as an organizer on the South Side of Chicago, that when citizens join their voices together, they can hold their leaders accountable. I'm not exempt from that. I'm certainly not perfect, and expect to be held accountable too. I cannot promise to agree with you on every issue. But I do promise to listen to your concerns, take them seriously, and seek to earn your ongoing support to change the country. That is why we have built the largest grassroots campaign in the history of presidential politics, and that is the kind of White House that I intend to run as president of the United States -- a White House that takes the Constitution seriously, conducts the peoples' business out in the open, welcomes and listens to dissenting views, and asks you to play your part in shaping our country's destiny.

Democracy cannot exist without strong differences. And going forward, some of you may decide that my FISA position is a deal breaker. That's ok. But I think it is worth pointing out that our agreement on the vast majority of issues that matter outweighs the differences we may have. After all, the choice in this election could not be clearer. Whether it is the economy, foreign policy, or the Supreme Court, my opponent has embraced the failed course of the last eight years, while I want to take this country in a new direction. Make no mistake: if John McCain is elected, the fundamental direction of this country that we love will not change. But if we come together, we have an historic opportunity to chart a new course, a better course.

So I appreciate the feedback through http://www.my.barackobama.com, and I look forward to continuing the conversation in the months and years to come. Together, we have a lot of work to do.

Timothy J. Russert, Journalist 1950-2008

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:28:00 +0000

Friday while riding in the hot sun from Williamsburg around 3:30 it was announced that Timothy J. Russert of "Meet the Press" past away. Mr. Russert was a fixture on Sunday morning for me. He was meticulous in the interviewing of his guest. While listening to the accolades from his colleagues about how he studied for every subject he interview, they were utterly amazed at how he performed his craft. Very moving to say the least.

Now what I was thinking was, okay, if Mr Russert does HIS homework, what are the rest of the journalist doing. Most of them basically said they wait from him to do his work then copy him. It gives me the image of the smartest kid in the class is taking the exam and the entire class is looking over his shoulder. Now the smartest kid in the class is gone, now what!!!!

What I would suggest for those who would like to honor Mr. Russert is to re-commit yourselves to finding the truth, expose the frauds in our society, raising a more informed electorate. Make a habit of doing the research and asking the right question instead spouting talking points. Take the time to think about the opinions you are shaping, Like Mr Russert thought of his father when he interviewed his subject.

Mr Russert was a Journalist, Newsman in the truest sense of the word. For that he will be sorely missed.

Peace

Anybody but HER.....

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:52:00 +0000

I wrote yesterday that Clinton had Senator Obama in a tight spot. After last night not any more. There are a few matters to examine to not place her on the ticket. Most of the so called "Weakness" of the Obama campaign. I will break these myths down one by one and give you the facts.

Obama can't get the working white vote in Ohio, PA, WV, KY: false

Fact:

1. The Rush Limbaugh factor, that counts for about 5-10% of her "hard working class white vote.

2. Most of the white working vote didn't start to peel off from the Senator until Ohio and Texas primary, which is when Rush put out his call.

White women are so upset about treatment of Clinton they won't vote for Obama. False

Fact

1. Soccer Moms who have not voted Democratic in two political elections cycles.

2. Those women who stated that they would not vote for the Senator have not been voting us in the first place.

Senator Obama has a Hispanic problem - Terry McAuliffe. False

Fact:

1. The hispanic states Nevada, Texas, New Mexico and California were mostly too close and he actually got more delegates out some of those states.

2. The only reason why he lost in Puerto Rico is that he was not that widely known.

Senator Obama can win POTUS with out her, and it would be the best thing for him to pick someone else. Not another women, but a border line Republican or a blue dog democrat.
Ex. Chuck Hagel, Mike Bloomberg, or Jim Webb.

Peace

HE DID IT

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

BARACK OBAMA IS THE NOMINEE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!!!!! He is the first African American to have this title.....I am so proud of him tonight. Who would have known in August 2004 that this would happen... Here is the speech that set it OFF!!!!!

CONGRADULATIONS TO SENATOR OBAMA FOR BEING AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL. ON TO POTUS!!!!!

PEACE

Angel of the Night....A Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:34:00 +0000

This beautiful woman is these photos is a muscial icon. Her name is Angela Bofill. Ms. Bofill has had many hits such as "I Try", "Tonight I Give In" and my favorite "Angel in the Night." I also got the pleasure of seeing her live twelve years ago. She was awesome by the way. But I am not making this entry because I am a admirer of Ms Bofill's body of work. I am writing because of something more tragic.

Recently I was peruzing the net I was reading that Ms Bofill suffered two strokes in 2006 and 2007. But this gets worse, Ms. Bofill is one of the millions uninsured Americans. She has a staggering figure of 50,000.00 worth of medical bills. When I read about this I was stunned I'm trying to figure a way in which to help. Ms Bofill does have a website here is the link.

http://www.angelabofill.com

Please visit the site and contribute.

Here is a few sample of Ms Bofills work.....Enjoy!!!!!

Single Payer Healthcare in the US...Reprise

noreply@blogger.com (Sharon) — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:58:00 +0000

I was just listening to Randi Rhodes today ran across commerical. This is a website that is lobbying for Single Payer healthcare. This is a law that healthcare industry are trying to block.

http://www.hr676.org/

Read about, get the information and volunteer.

Freedom ain't free

Peace